Sudrian Chronicles
by WarriorOfKek
Summary: This is a TTTE fanseries set in an alternate universe where the course of events is taken in a slightly skewed direction. These chapters were actually supposed to be the script for an audiobook series that fell through and were left unused. I actually have the original discord server for the series' development; if you're interested in this series just send me a PM for the invite!
1. Book 1, Chapter 1: Express Concern

From 1923 to 1925, Alfred and Gordon had to manage the 6 expresses they shared every day on top of their local trains. Since their duties carried on long into the night, longer than that of the others, the pair did not get enough sleep and were often grumpy because of it. However, Alfred believed that his jobs entailed a high degree of reverence, and oftentimes snapped at the other engines, who never gave him the degree of respect he wanted. Gordon was guilty of this too, although to a lesser degree. This caused a rift between the express engines and everyone else, and heated arguments were commonplace on the NWR when the express engines were not carrying passengers. The Fat Controller usually blamed Alfred and Gordon for any issues that might have come up during said arguments, even if it was not actually their faults, and thus the express engines' moods were made even sourer. As a result, the climate of the railway was almost always tense to everyone except its customers.

One chilly January morning in 1925, the Fat Controller came to the sheds while a black German class 80 rolled up alongside him. "This is Marklin," Sir Topham Hatt said to the engines. "He's here to help with the shunting at Knapford, since Thomas has been telling me that shunting everyone's trains has been getting a bit hard for him lately." Thomas smiled in a mix of pride and relief. Marklin smiled back at Thomas and said to everyone in a thick German accent, "Greetings, everyone! I am excited to work on this railway with you all!" The other engines said their hello's, although Gordon's smile was obviously fake and he spoke through clenched teeth. Alfred, however, said nothing but instead glowered at the Fat Controller. As Marklin left to take on more water, Alfred spoke up. "Hold on one second," he snarled. "You're telling me that not only do you tank engines and mixed-traffics get another little comrade to have happy little adventures with, but us express engines- the hardest workers, and the ones with the biggest right to complain- are expected to continue running ourselves ragged with no help? this is an outrage, sir!" The Fat Controller gave Alfred a glare that could have melted steel (pun not intended), but spoke calmly. "Alfred," he began, "how dare you speak to the others and I like that. You have been nothing but trouble for me since you came to the NWR, and you frankly don't deserve to live here. All my engines work equally hard, obviously excluding you. Only lazy engines whine about work like you do, and laziness is obviously not a characteristic of being Really Useful. So stow your complaints amd try being a decent engine for a change." Alfred's eyelid twitched in anger, and he suddenly shot forward onto the turntable, stopping a few feet away from Sir Topham Hatt. "Excuse me?! Does my work mean nothing to you?! Three years Gordon and I have been running express trains_ day and night_, and neither of us have ever been late or had an accident! _We_ are the ones who maintain the public image. _We_ are the ones that hide our squabbles in front of passengers. _We_ are the ones who keep your railway running! So stow it yourself,_ sir_, and give Gordon and I the respect we rightfully deserve!"

Any semblance of tranquility left the Fat Controller after he heard this, and was about to give Alfred a verbal lashing that would offend even the most hardened of individuals when Gordon interjected. "Sir, with all due respect, as disrespectful as Alfred's being right now, he is absolutely right. We work tirelessly to maintain this railway's image, but we get nothing to show for it, not even a break or even simple praise of our work. All we're asking for is help with our duties or simply a good night's rest once in a while, is that too much to ask?"

The Fat Controller paused. Alfred's outburst was shocking enough, but now Gordon was speaking out, too? Despite their disrespect for the other engines, Gordon and Alfred had always held their tongues and toed the line when in the presence of the Fat Controller. Needless to say, this was a first for him, and he had no idea what to do. While he was lost in his own thoughts, the engines eyed him with suspense. Throughout their time working for him on the railway, they realized that his actions were highly predictable, and thus could figure out what he would do next. This time, however, was different. They had no idea what he would do.

After a minute, the Fat Controller turned back to Alfred. "You are to stay in your shed until further notice," he said. "Let this be a lesson to you to not disrespect me again." Alfred frowned, and said "Yes, sir," but internally he rejoiced. He could finally catch up on his sleep! After that, the Fat Controller left for his office. He had a lot to think about.


	2. Book 1, Chapter 2: Seeing the World

With Alfred shut up in the shed, Gordon had to take his trains for him on top of his own. This would put an even bigger amount of stress for the NWR's number 4, and his already temperamental nature was increased tenfold. Meanwhile, Marklin was oblivious to the goings on due to his absence during the Fat Controller's argument with Alfred. He was genuinely enjoying his work, and he quickly caught onto Thomas's shunting system. Within a few days, he could operate Knapford yard independently of the E2. On the other hand, Thomas himself had realized how mundane his job was and had begun to grow tired of it. He complained about it endlessly to the other engines, which Marklin didn't mind but the rest of the engines ignored. Eventually, however, the Fat Controller took Gordon off local passenger duties and had the other engines juggle the extra trains amongst them.

One morning, Henry had trouble building up steam and it was clear that he would not be able to pull trains for a while. Upon hearing of Henry's predicament, the Fat Controller made a quick decision. "Tell Thomas to take Henry's first few trains. While this is drastic and probably will not happen again, desperate times call for desperate measures." "Right away, sir," the yard manager replied, and made off to relay the information to the staff. When Thomas heard that he was to take a long line of trucks to Vicarstown , he was stricken with a jumble of emotions. While he was happy that he was finally getting to pull a train, he feared that he would not be able to complete the journey before 8:00 AM due to his low top speed, and that no opportunities like this would arise again because of it.

As he backed down onto the train, an idea flew into Thomas's funnel. He had heard from Edward and Henry that trucks loved to push engines down hills, and might also do so to him. That, he thought, would grant him enough speed to reach Vicarstown by 8. "All right, trucks," he said with a smile, "I'll make you lot a deal. If you don't offer me any resistance, I'll let you push me down Gordon's Hill as fast as you can. How does that sound? Having never heard an engine propose such a thing before, the trucks were surprised. However, they still agreed and Thomas set off. He half expected the trucks to go back on their word and have their brakes slip on, but they held up their end of the bargain and did nothing on the upward journey. As he crested the hill, Thomas shouted "NOW!!!" and the trucks surged forwards. He cheered in excitement as he flew down the hill at a speed he thought only Gordon or Alfred could achieve, but he had forgotten about one thing- Inertia.

Newton's First Law of Motion states that an object in motion will continue traveling at the same speed until an outside force such as friction is acted upon it, and that said object will tend to continue travelling in the same direction. This means that an engine travelling quickly downhill will derail if it comes to a curve unless it slows down. Most engines know this and exercise caution in situations like this, but Thomas, who almost never traversed hills, had no idea about it. One minute he was racing down the hill having the time of his life, the next, he was on his side in a field. (In case you viewers are wondering why his crew did not slow him down, they were inexperienced as well, and did not possess the foresight to apply the brakes.) It took Thomas a few seconds to realize his situation. When it finally sunk in that he was going nowhere anytime soon, he screamed out a stream of curses that would make a sailor blush. His crew were only slightly injured, so his driver was able to run to a nearby signalbox and alert the signalman, who telephoned for the breakdown train.

Meanwhile, in the sheds, Alfred was sulking. The excitement of having a decent rest has long since worn off, and was now replaced with a desire to return to work. Presently, he saw the Fat Controller walking up to him. When the stout gentleman reached Alfred, he drew in a long breath. "Alfred," he began, "your conduct on this railway is unacceptable. Every engine here has a purpose, and you need to learn that no position is greater than the other. However, I have realized you and Gordon do have a valid point about being overworked. That's why I have decided to buy 3 more engines. They will help you 2 with your local trains and express duties, and one of them has actually volunteered to pull goods trains on occasion. However, this isn't the reason why I came to talk to you. Thomas has derailed on a goods run to Vicarstown, and you're the only one who can take the breakdown train at the moment. I need you to fetch Judy and Jerome, and then take Thomas to the Works once they have him on a flatbed." Alfred grunted in affirmation, but he was preoccupied with the Fat Controller's previous statements.

No purpose being greater the other? And 3 new engines? The thoughts swirled throughout his smokebox like a whirlwind as he collected Judy and Jerome. The second he buffered up to them, the pair snapped into fight-or-flight mode. "Where's the energency?" shouted Jerome. "...Gordon's Hill, there's been an accident..." murmured Alfred, too preoccupied to focus on the task at hand. As he puffed to the crash site, he began to think of his days on the LNER. On that railway, the express engines were constantly told that they were the most important of all, since they kept up the railway's image. But here Sir Topham Hatt was saying otherwise. Both ideas made sense to him, but directly opposed each other at the same time. He had no idea of what to think or who to listen to anymore.

When they finally arrived at the scene of the accident, Thomas was still cross. He was silent as the cranes put him on a flatbed, and he remained that way when he was taken to the Works. That was fine with Alfred, as he had a lot to think about on his own. That night, Sir Topham Hatt visited Alfred in the sheds. He explained to Alfred that he would be let out again, but if he continued his insubordination, he would be sent back to England. Afterwards, he left for the Works to see how the repairs on Thomas were coming along. When he arrived, he found Thomas fast asleep while engineers worked on him. The foreman noticed him and quickly made his way over. "That little tank engine's got a lot on his plate right now," he said. The Fat Controller replied with "Is that so? Coming from Thomas, that's a bit of a surprise." Thomas had always been quick to make his desires known, and the Fat Controller usually knew about it if the tank engine had something to say. "Well, sir, he was quite cross when he first arrived, but after we calmed him down, he opened up to us. He told us everything- His desire to pull trains, his lapse in judgement and request for the trucks to push him down the hill so that he could reach Vicarstown on time, and his fear that he'll never have a chance to pull trains again because of the accident. I feel sorry for the chap, it seems like he really wants to please you." The Fat Controller paused. He somewhat knew Thomas wanted to pull trains, but he had no idea that his desire was that strong. Then again, should a shunter even do that? Then, he thought of Timothy, the E2 who regularly pulled trains on the Ffarquahar branch with a few 'Coffeepot' engines and was modified for longer journeys. Perhaps it would be good for him to work there... After all, one of the engines who worked on the branch had been withdrawn and scrapped a few years back, and the Ffarquahar engines needed someone to help them.

"I have made a decision," said the Fat Controller. "As soon as you repair him, I want you to modify Thomas and widen his bunker and side tanks so he'd be able to travel regularly on longer journeys." The foreman nodded. "Right away, sir. I'll relay the message to the rest of the men and after we repair Thomas, we'll begin the modifications." With that, the Fat Controller tipped his hat and left, feeling good about the decision he made. However, only time would tell if it was the _right_ one.


End file.
